Canon Goes Mirrorless with EOS R

AlphaAtlas

AlphaAtlas

[H]ard|Gawd
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Hot on the heels of Nikon's Z7 and Z6, Canon just announced their first full-frame mirrorless camera. Unlike a traditional SLR, the EOS R has no internal mirror that deflects light to a viewfinder and auto-focusing equipment. Instead, the camera uses an electronic viewfinder with an OLED screen, and has special autofocus "points" baked into the main sensor itself. Ditching the mirror allows the lens to sit closer to the sensor, so Canon also introduced a new set of lenses, along with a set of adapters for older SLR lenses. Canon says the EOS R body will arrive next month, while the new lenses and adapters will drop shortly after. Far from a regular SLR release, this move represents a big shift in high end camera technology. Techreport has a great writeup on how mirrorless designs are seemingly taking over the SLR market.

The new Canon EOS R camera features Dual Pixel CMOS Auto Focus with 5,655 manually selectable AF points, supporting AF at up to f/11 with a 384 zone (24x16) real-time metering system. With f/1.2 lenses, the camera astonishingly boasts AF sensitivity in low light in as little as EV-6. When using the RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM lens with the EOS R, the camera can focus in as little as 0.05 seconds with Dual Pixel CMOS AF, making it the fastest autofocus speed in the world. These features provide photographers and videographers with Canon's most advanced AF system to date. The EOS R also features a silent shutter setting when shooting in single-shot mode; an important feature for those who need to capture imagery without disrupting the scene.
 
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No dual cards, no IBIS, no Eye AF, horrible battery life, 3 FPS lol, and a recycled 5D4 sensor with probably the same DR. With the speed at which Canon keeps up with technology they might be competitive in the mirrorless scene in 10 years.
 
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Budwise said:
No dual cards, no IBIS, no Eye AF, a recycled 5D4 sensor with probably the same DR. With the speed at which Canon keeps up with technology they might be competitive in the mirrorless scene in 10 years.
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No dual cards is an issue shared by Nikon's Z cameras as well, and both deserve criticism.

There actually is 'eye AF'- had to watch a few videos to find that out.

Sensor is probably a bit upgraded as evidenced by the AF coverage, which exceeds competitors. DR is unknown.

IBIS is probably the only thing I find truly egregious for my own non-professional work; I'd love to run that new RF 50/1.2L with it.

But coming from a 6D I, I'm seeing a whole lot that I like, and I can see many shooters adding the EOS R with the adapters to their bag. I don't even have to buy a lens.

Of course I'll probably wait for it to hit the refurbished store first :D.
 
Still, that 3FPS and 300 shot battery life. We're back to EOS Rebel speeds.

If you can't tell, I'm an ex-Canon shooter gone Sony. When the 5D4 and 6D2 came out I realized how little they progress for the money they ask. Their L glass is their saving grace though.
 
Budwise said:
Still, that 3FPS and 300 shot battery life. We're back to EOS Rebel speeds.

If you can't tell, I'm an ex-Canon shooter gone Sony. When the 5D4 and 6D2 came out I realized how little they progress for the money they ask. Their L glass is their saving grace though.
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I shoot Canon by coin flip; could've been Nikon or Sony. If I were to jump ship today, it'd be Fuji ;).

And while I don't expect a Sony shooter to agree here, ergonomics, UI, and system support are part of Canon's selling point. Nikon runs a close second, and Sony doesn't usually appear to be running at all.

With respect to framerate and battery life, there are faster modes, and battery life is very likely rated pessimistically. It will vary significantly depending on how you use the camera.

Last, I do not expect Canon to get many converts or reconverts with these cameras. If someone is more comfortable with Nikon, the Z cameras will feel right at home, and if someone has rewired their brain to think Sony, well, respect ;).

These cameras are really targeted at current Canon photographers, to give them the additional capabilities that mirrorless excels at. For that purpose, aside from that missing second card slot (!!!), I feel that Canon has succeeded.
 
I'm whelmed. But after owning 32 digital slr's over the last 15 years...I think they are kinda neat.

I won't be adding them on until the drop closer to $1200, but they are pretty cool. Been pretty content with my current combo.
 
One of the side benefits to a mirror is that the mirror helps protect the sensor from dust.
 
Knurrus said:
Battery life will remain worse than for a DSLR, I'm afraid.
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Yeah but the new camera can be charged via USB-C!

Who doesn't have a spare battery bank sitting around?

I was at my sister's wedding, and the photographer used a Sony A7 III as his primary, Canon 6D2 as his backup, and previously used various 5Ds.
In any case, I'm a Canon shooter, and was extremely impressed with how fast and accurate the tracking on Sony's A7 III tracks. Honestly it was like a smartphone with a L lens attached to it.
 
Looks like DSLRs will be going the way of the dodo just like their SLR predecessors. It's a shame. I have a lot of cash tied up in my Nikon DSLR & glass and I really don't want to ebay all that just to get something that doesn't flip a mirror - esp since I am not a pro photographer (I really don't need a full frame sensor for anything I do).

I am glad to see both Nikon and Canon keeping that DSLR feel with the handgrip. I often free-carry (no strap) mine by that grip and it feels nice & secure.
 
Knurrus said:
Charging the battery can take hours, so I've an extra one, just in case I run out. I'm just shooting for fun, not professionally.
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It can. I just looked at my charger and it takes in 100V @ 0.21A but only outputs 8.4V @ 1.2A... it's wasting half of the phase? wtf?

I might be making an incorrect assumption, but with USB-C charging, we could potentially see easily output to battery double the 10W the regular charger is rated at. Also, the potential for tethered battery? The LP-E6 is rated 13.5Whr, which could be supplied over USB-C spec in a very short time.

cyberguyz said:
Looks like DSLRs will be going the way of the dodo just like their SLR predecessors. It's a shame. I have a lot of cash tied up in my Nikon DSLR & glass and I really don't want to ebay all that just to get something that doesn't flip a mirror - esp since I am not a pro photographer (I really don't need a full frame sensor for anything I do).
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SLRs still have a few advantages.

No need for juice when setting up a shot. Also eyepiece gives an additional contact area for stability (in the case where a electronic viewfinder is not available).

Nikon appears to be offering a F to Z mount, so you could use your existing lenses on the mirrorless. Canon is in the same boat with EF to RF.
Without backward compatibility, these FF systems would probably straight up fail.
 
Knurrus said:
Battery life will remain worse than for a DSLR, I'm afraid. One can put in larger capacity batteries, but then the camera will be bigger and heavier, so the for many important feature of compactness is compromised. With newer technology (CPU, sensor) the power consumption can be reduced, but then one wants better features (like improved eye detection or faster and more accurate auto focus, better EVF) that consumes power....
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That's one of my favorite things about my old DSLR. I used to spend a ton of time lining up shots, which takes no battery on a dSLR, but mirrorless cameras have to power up the giant sensor, image processor, and an external display to do anything.
 
cyberguyz said:
I have a lot of cash tied up in my Nikon DSLR & glass and I really don't want to ebay all that
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Nikon is supporting a tremendous number of lenses with their FTZ adapter. Canon is doing the same, and many lenses will not be much smaller on mirrorless.
 
Both Canon and Nikon saw the A7iii out in the market and they still released the cameras that they did. At least Nikon put in IBIS and better video compared to it's other Nikon predecessors.

The Canon on the other hand kept the same janky video it's always had. Besides the slow frame rates, it's cropped as well (not sure if 1.6 or 1.7) and eye autofocus only works in still pic mode, not video mode.

Besides compatibility with Canon glass and slightly higher res (30 megapixel vs 24ish in the others), there's no upside to the camera despite it being released later than every one else.

In a way I'm glad it turned out the way that it did. If Canon had hit it out of the park, I might have actually regretted switching to Sony a few months back.

BTW: I've seen some sites say there are 1 or 2 more Canon mirrorless cameras coming down the pike, so there is still a possibility that they correct the shortcomings in pricier $$$ models yet to be released.
 
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Oh and according to some of the YouTubers - besides no IBIS, there's also no IS in many of the new lenses as well. Don't know about anyone else, but I'm not too fond of trying to handhold a F1.2
 
Too rich for my blood, let alone the new lenses.

I'll just wait and hope the rich folks dump their used gear onto the market
 
After more reading - some other interesting things / pluses I just thought of - the new top screen looks cool compared to the old LCD they used to use.

The new function ring on some lenses as well as on one of the three lens adaptors also might be cool, though only time will tell. The lens adaptor with the slot for filters also seems like a cool new innovation. The basic lens adaptor (EF->R) is
 
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